Polymers, such as polyolefins, are plastic materials useful for making a wide variety of valued products due to their combination of stiffness, ductility, barrier properties, temperature resistance, optical properties, availability, and low cost. In particular, polyethylene is one of the largest volume polymers consumed in the world.
Different products employ polyolefins with various properties, which are generally produced under diverse conditions, such as different catalysts, temperature, pressure, etc. In certain instances, polyolefins with diverse properties can be produced in the same reactor, under different sets of conditions. However, transitioning between different sets of conditions, such as different catalysts systems, can involve shutting down the reactor, resulting in a loss of polyolefin production. Thus, there is an ongoing need for developing efficient processes for continuously transitioning between different reactor conditions during polyolefin production.